DUIs have been an issue in America for many years to a point that private organizations have come to assist in helping to control this vice. To some level, drunken driving has become a scourge due to the number of lives it has affected. Drunken drivers have caused permanent physical injuries and deaths to many people. For this reason, the law has been very strict in trying to curb drunken driving especially repeat offenders. With the use of technology in many aspects of life, the DMV also devised a method to control DUIs using technology.
A piece of technological ingenuity brought about the ignition interlocking device. The ignition interlock device works by restricting ignition of a vehicle if a driver is intoxicated. Before one starts a vehicle fitted with the device, he or she is required to provide a breath sample by blowing into the device. Just like a breathalyzer, it analyzes the sample and gives out results in terms of percentage of concentration of alcohol in the blood. If the blood alcohol concentration is above the set limit of the device, it will restrict the vehicle from starting.
Different states have different set limits of blood alcohol concentration according to their laws. To further hinder the driver from intoxicating themselves when on the road, the device randomly requests for another sample whine one is driving. On this request, the driver must produce another sample or the device will initiate a log of the event. These logs are subject to analysis by the police during random stops. The logs are randomly reviewed every 30 to 90 days.
Once the log is created the driver will receive a warning message followed by an alarm that will go on until the car stops and its engine turned off. Despite the ignition interlocking technology being designed to stop the vehicle, it does not do so immediately lest the driver causes an accident from their car going off in the middle of a busy highway. This device is a success story in the fight against DUIs and has seen considerable progress.
The ignition interlocking device was a suggestion by Mothers Against drunk Driving which has since the 80s been fighting against DUIs. As a result of their valiant efforts, the ignition interlocking device was passed into law in 2009. Persons charged with DUIs are required to have their vehicles fitted with this device as a measure to reduce recidivism. However not all states have incorporated the law but most with strict DUI laws like California have. Depending on the circumstance surrounding the arrest, a DUI offender is required to have the device installed in their vehicles for up to 3 years since their conviction.
This device does not come cheap and it is the offender who has to foot the bill for its installation. This means that if for whatever reason the driver decides not to install the device on their vehicle, they will have no other option but to rely on public transportation to take them from place to place until the expiry of the suspension of their driver’s license.
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